Many businesses use loyalty reward programs as part of their marketing strategy. These programs make the customers who already love coming back even more incentivized to do so.
And customer loyalty program software makes these types of reward programs easier to run vs. doing it manually.
What is customer loyalty software?
The goal of customer loyalty software is to help increase customer retention and engagement through the issuing of brand-related rewards. When customers make a purchase or perform other brand-building actions (like leaving a review or sharing on social), the software registers points or credits in the customer’s name, which the customer can later redeem for rewards.
Most early loyalty programs provided the customer with a physical reward tracking card (think of the stamp card you get at your local coffee shop). With customer loyalty software, tracking is done in an app instead of with a physical card.
What type of business is loyalty software best for?
Despite all the benefits of loyalty programs, customer loyalty software isn’t the best choice for every business. This is because certain businesses stand to reap the benefits of loyalty programs much more strongly than others.
A loyalty program will best fit your business if you meet one or more of the following:
- You sell relatively inexpensive products (usually B2C)
- Customers purchase from you frequently (approx. once per month, at least)
- It’s easy to make purchasing from you a habit, for another reason (for example, if you offer recurring services that happen on a regular basis: annually, monthly, weekly, etc.)
And some industries where loyalty programs fit especially well are:
- Food services (restaurants, cafes, groceries, etc.)
- Beauty/health/wellness
- Recurring purchases (razors, supplements, pet food, etc.)
- Apparel
- Recurring services (salons, dentists, pest control, gyms, cleaning, etc.)
If a loyalty program software isn’t the best fit for your type of business based on what you sell and how often people purchase from, check out referral program software or affiliate software as an alternative.
What are the best customer loyalty tools?
1. Loyalzoo
Best for: Small and medium-sized independent retailers and food businesses with physical locations
Loyalzoo is a loyalty points program software system that helps independent retailers and food businesses create and launch an in-store loyalty program in minutes. Loyalzoo focuses on providing a customizable digital punch card interface, knowing that points card members typically spend more per visit than non-card members.
Loyalzoo adapts to your business, meaning you have full control. You can sign up customers on your POS (point of sale) system by using their phone number or email address. Then, points or stamps are sent to customers via text or email, meaning they don’t have to download an app if they don’t want to (but the Loyalzoo app is available for customers who want it).
Key features:
- Supports multiple locations: if you have a chain, your customers can earn points across all stores.
- Free organic marketing: when a customer signs up for a Loyalzoo program using Facebook, their check-ins appear in their friends’ Facebook feed.
- Branded loyalty card: design your digital loyalty card with your logo and brand colors.
- Works for all purchase types: Customers can earn points on both physical and digital purchases.
Pricing: $47-$77/month per store; or, pay a 1% transaction fee on subscriptions for subscriptions and memberships.
Free trial? Yes, a 7-day free trial is available.
Capterra rating: 4.4/5 (105 reviews)
“I love that it’s so easy to use and simple. You can customize how you want your points to be. Whether it’s a point per dollar, or a point per visit, or a point per item/service, it’s easy. I also love that I can view the history of clients and see when their total visits and last visits were.” –Hoang T., via Capterra
2. Loyalty Gator
Best for: Businesses with physical locations (e.g. automotive, retail, health care, leisure, restaurant)
Loyalty Gator can be used to set up a points- or action-based loyalty program, gift card program, or employee loyalty initiative. Clients appreciate that the platform is flexible so they can customize their loyalty programs with an easy-to-use system at an affordable rate. Businesses can also test it out before they buy with the 30-day free trial.
Key features:
- No transaction fees.
- Merchants own all of their customer/transaction data entered into the system and can export it at any time.
- Programs are not within a shared network with hundreds of other participating merchants or competitors.
- They offer a robust API that allows clients to integrate with many third-party systems and create custom solutions.
Pricing: Approx. $44/month (for up to 100 customers) to approx. $132/month (for up to 10,000 customers). Enterprise plan also available.
Note: Original prices listed in CAD on the website; prices here are converted to USD.
Free trial? Yes, a 30-day free trial is available.
Capterra rating: 4.5/5 (11 reviews)
“The simplicity of the software is great. When I first did research, a lot of software seemed overly complicated. I really enjoy Loyalty Gator’s simple approach to rewards programs.” –Kevin K., via Capterra
3. FiveStars
Best for: Businesses with physical locations (e.g. restaurants, retail, health and beauty)
FiveStars is an all-in-one payment and rewards program software that lets local businesses upgrade from physical punch cards and switch to a digital, flexible rewards program. Businesses can connect with customers by sending them targeted rewards and promotions and setting up automated campaigns to keep their business top-of-mind.
FiveStars helps businesses in a variety of industries, including restaurants, clothing, health and beauty, and retail.
Key features:
- Easy sign-up and check-in: Customers can easily sign-up in-store or via the app with their phone number.
- Easily check how often each enrolled customer has shopped with you.
- Automatic campaigns: The autopilot feature automatically sends customers notifications, to keep them engaged. Target customers who haven’t shopped with you in a while, or send rewards to your best customers.
- Promotions tool: Send one-time promotions to help spike customer visits.
Pricing: Not publicly available. Sign up on Fivestars to see pricing.
Free trial? No
Capterra rating: 4.6/5 (1285 reviews)
“FiveStars monitors how long a customer has been away from the store and allowed us to target certain messages to those customers who hadn’t been in the store in a while. We were able to make our customer count stronger and created a sense of urgency with coupons and promotions.” –Pam S., via Capterra
4. Thanx
Best for: Restaurants with online ordering
Thanx‘s loyalty program software pairs well with hospitality businesses and helps them drive revenue. Thanx helps businesses focus on customer relationships rather than discounts by rewarding frequent, high-spending customers.
Thanx programs are customizable to fit unique business needs. For example, it can help restaurants sync mobile ordering with their loyalty program. Additionally, Thanx is easy to use for both customers and merchants. Customers don’t have to install a mobile app to participate (though they can if they want), and merchants don’t have to install any hardware or work with complicated POS integrations.
Key features:
- Dashboard with detailed customer profiles: All customer data lives on your Thanx dashboard, which makes responding to customer feedback easy.
- Automatically enrolls 100% of online ordering customers into the loyalty program.
- Option to offer non-discount rewards (like Hidden Menu and Access Pass).
- Set up automated cart abandonment marketing campaigns.
Pricing: Not publicly available. Contact Thanx for pricing.
Free trial? No
Capterra rating: N/A
5. Tapmango
Best for: Restaurants and retail businesses with physical locations
Tapmango provides restaurants and retail businesses with the tools needed to run their own loyalty program. Setup only takes 30 minutes, and businesses have the ability to customize their programs from top to bottom. Rewards, specials, and information collected from the customer can be customized.
Tapmango lets businesses connect with customers at multiple touchpoints: by SMS, mobile push, and email. Businesses can create customer “happy hours” by putting specific items on sale. The software also integrates with all the major POS systems including Vend, Square, Lightspeed Retail and Restaurant, Mindbody, Checkfront, and more.
Key features:
- Automate rewards for birthdays, events, or when a customer hasn’t visited in a given time frame
- Multiple tablets with different configurations at a single location
- App supports both single locations and franchises with multiple stores
- Complete customization: Businesses can customize almost everything to fit their branding
Pricing: Not publicly available. Contact Tapmango for pricing.
Free trial? No.
Capterra rating: 4.8/5 (162 reviews)
“There are so many different ways to reward your customers, from automatic texts when they haven’t been in for a certain amount of time, to sending out specific promos and vouchers to get them back in sooner. The birthday gift is a huge hit as well!” –Christina S., via Capterra
6. Kangaroo Rewards
Best for: Both e-commerce and bricks-and-mortar businesses (or omni-channel)
Kangaroo Rewards is loyalty program software that lets you fully customize your program to fit your brand, including personalizing each customer’s experience. There are solutions divided by industry (retail, restaurants, golf courses, e-commerce) and verticals (small business, enterprise, agency).
Reward customers for visiting your store, for spending a certain amount in one purchase or purchasing a specific product, and more. Automatic time-based rewards are also available, which let you reward customers on their birthday, or entice them to come back if they haven’t purchased from you in a given time frame.
Customers can access your program through a Kangaroo app, so there’s no need for them to worry about forgetting a loyalty card. Plus, a business dashboard gives you insights on customers’ behavior, empowering you to change up your program based on what customers find most engaging.
Key features:
- Fully customizable: Structures and rewards to fit your brand
- Dedicated program specialist: A customer success manager will assist you with every step of setting up and running your program.
- Multi-lingual: Set up your loyalty program in English, Spanish, French or Portuguese.
- Integration with Lightspeed: If you have the Lightspeed POS platform, Kangaroo Rewards integrates seamlessly.
Pricing: $59-$299/month; enterprise plan also available
Free trial? No
Capterra rating: 4.6 (76 reviews)
“The biggest way we saved was removing the labor cost of maintaining our manual rewards card system. Customers are loving redeeming things with their points. We can choose all manner of things for them to redeem, and they love the choices.” –Sharni V., via Capterra
7. LoyaltyLion
Best for: E-commerce businesses (especially those running on Shopify)
LoyaltyLion’s loyalty program software is specifically designed for e-commerce stores, with a focus on Shopify sellers. It lets you reward any number of actions customers take on your site, at any point in their customer journey, so you can both reward loyal customers and entice customers at risk for churn. This includes giving customer rewards for social media shares and reviews, so you can reward that valuable word-of-mouth marketing.
Integrations with Shopify and Magento stores stand out, but if you’re running your own e-commerce store, independent from one of these platforms, LoyaltyLion will work with your store as well.
Easy-to-interpret data shows just how much of your customer base can be considered loyal, and how much revenue they’re generating, as well as which customers are considered at-risk. And performance insights help you optimize your loyalty program for the best results.
Key features:
- Loyalty emails: Points statements let customers know exactly how much they’ve earned in a given period, as well as how many total points are available. Event emails drive traffic to your site by letting customers know about new point-earning opportunities.
- Plenty of integrations: Seamlessly connects with top e-commerce, POS, CRM, email marketing, and other software you use to run your online store.
- Customer insights: See loyal and at-risk customers and their impact at a glance
Pricing: $359-$1,650/month; enterprise plan also available
Free trial? No
Capterra rating: 4.6/5 (16 reviews)
“The integrations are great and admin dashboard is easy to navigate and use. The customer service team are always fast to respond if you ever need them. The emails that are sent out from Loyalty Lion out of the box can be basic in appearance, but with the ability to integrate with MailChimp and Bronto for sending, this hasn’t held us back.” –Ben S., via Capterra
8. Marsello
Best for: Businesses that run both online and with a physical location
Marsello is customer loyalty software that works both in-store and online. On the loyalty end, Marsello lets you create an app-based program so your customers don’t have to worry about bringing a physical card to your store.
You can customize your loyalty points and rewards structure, and add new rewards as you go based on customer feedback and preferences. Then, as customers accumulate enough points to earn rewards, Marsello automatically sends them an email that details the rewards they can redeem. You can also send limited coupons to further incentivize purchasing, with rules that prevent coupon abuse.
Most importantly, you’ll get comprehensive data about customers’ purchases, points earned, and loyalty levels, so you can see if they’re VIPs, regular customers, customers at risk of churn, or lapsed – and use the right strategies to either keep them loyal or bring them back.
Key features:
- Customers don’t have to worry about forgetting a physical card. With the app on their phone, they’re good to go.
- Easy to connect with your POS and e-commerce apps.
- Reward points for custom actions, gamify your program with different tiers, or win back customers with re-engagement campaigns
- Current and upcoming integrations: Marsello integrates with Shopify, Woocommerce, BigCommerce, Magento, and more e-commerce platforms.
- Allows you to run a connected loyalty program across multiple physical stores.
Pricing: $125-$135/month — a “Plus” program option is also available if you have more complex business needs.
Free trial? Yes, a 14-day free trial is available.
Capterra rating: 4.4/5 (98 reviews)
“Marsello [formerly Goody] has been great in the feedback forms of finding out what clients truly feel about your business and what you can improve on. The time I would spend following up on clients, whether it was birthdays, follow ups, ratings, etc., it has now taken over for me now, saving me time!” –Carine W., via Capterra
9. Antavo
Best for: Established retail and fashion businesses
Antavo bills itself as “the leading customer retention technology for retail and fashion,” and helps over 30,000 businesses run loyalty programs with over 19 million active members. As a modern, omnichannel loyalty program, Antavo is app-based, and uses NFC (Near Field Communication) technology to scan customers’ phones as digital loyalty cards. This opens up the opportunity to set up self-service loyalty kiosks with engaging interactive experiences.
Gamification is a major part of Antavo – set up a tiered program, create branded “challenges,” let customers spin a thrilling prize wheel when they visit your store, or even stage an interactive treasure hunt in-store! It hasn’t forgotten about customer personalization, either. Antavo has integrated ways to encourage customers to share the information needed to personalize, without feeling intrusive.
Key features:
- Easily integrates with your existing suite of e-commerce, POS, and CRM software.
- Hyper-gamification: Antavo’s a master of turning your loyalty program into an engaging game (perfect for the mobile-centric world).
- Detailed dashboard with KPIs: See exactly how customers engage with your program, and how the program helps you increase your bottom line.
- Resource library: Ebooks and videos help you get your loyalty program up and running.
Pricing: Not publicly available; contact Antavo for details.
Free trial? No
Capterra rating: 4.3/5 (15 reviews)
“We can create different kinds of rewards to make them more attractive to the customers. We can handle double points campaigns on certain categories to incentive purchases. I like the fact that Antavo software is very user-friendly and that we can customize it according to our needs.” – Francesca M., via Capterra
10. Loopy Loyalty
Best for: Small in-person businessses
Simple yet effective, Loopy Loyalty’s digital loyalty card program is a great choice for small businesses. This loyalty program software is centered around the virtual punch card model, where a purchase or dollar amount spent earns a “punch” on a digital card; after a certain amount of “punches,” a reward is unlocked.
Using the Loopy Loyalty base template, you’ll design a unique card to fit your business, with the look and reward rules you prefer. How many “punches” are needed to receive the reward, and what will that reward be? Will there be multiple rewards available, each with a different number of “punches” needed to earn? It’s your call.
Each digital loyalty card is distributed via a unique URL or QR code, in person at your store, or using email, text, or social media. Once it’s opened, the card gets stored in a customer’s mobile wallet (Apple Wallet or Google Pay), so that customer has their card whenever they have their phone.
Key features:
- Easy setup: Simple digital punchcard model means you’ll be ready to go in minutes.
- Integration with online payment platforms: Including Apple Wallet and Google Pay
- Unlimited users on all plans: However many customers you have, they can all sign up at no additional cost to you.
- Send personalized notifications to your customers, including an automatic message when a customer is near your location.
Pricing: $25-$95/month
Free trial? No
Capterra rating: 4.6/5 (52 reviews)
“It’s very easy to use (on both the owner and customer side), and it’s quite reasonably priced, in my opinion. Their customer service people are readily available, if you need them, and they’re super helpful. All in all, this is a good service for anyone looking for a simple, easy-to-use loyalty program.” –Stephanie F., via Capterra
11. Points and Rewards for WooCommerce Pro
Best for: E-commerce businesses running on WooCommerce
Points And Rewards For WooCommerce, by WP Swings, is a customer retention plugin that aims to engage customers by offering them rewards points for activities they perform on your online storefront, like signup, purchase, and sharing. Customers can redeem points with on-purchase discounts and participate in the membership program.
Using this solution in your WooCommerce store can improve your sales, return on investment (ROI), conversion rate, and customer lifetime value (CLV). But note that you have to be an online store using WooCommerce to use this tool!
Key features:
- Engages customers with points and rewards with every action they perform.
- Builds a strong customer base by providing loyalty rewards to your regular and top shoppers, integrated into your WooCommerce store.
- Affordable price point.
Pricing: $99/year for 1 site
Free trial? A free version of the plugin is available to try.
Capterra rating: N/A
12. Spark Loyalty
Best for: Independent merchants with in-person locations
Spark Loyalty is an affordable loyalty and customer engagement solution designed for local independent merchants.
Spark Loyalty is easy to use and customize for your brand. You don’t need a tablet to use the Spark Loyalty app – you can run it right from your phone. And unlike other loyalty suite solutions, you won’t have to purchase a point-of-sale platform or pay more for other features you don’t need.
It also includes mobile and email marketing features, like automated campaigns based on customer actions.
Key features:
- Fully loyalty-focused with no upselling: You don’t have to pay more for other features, like a POS platform, to access Spark Loyalty’s loyalty program.
- Stellar customer service from a small business that understands local businesses.
- Unlimited real-time push notifications and email campaigns for customer engagement, plus unlimited text messaging campaigns with the Pro plan.
- Multi-location support.
Pricing: $10-$99/month
Free trial? No.
Capterra rating: 4.7/5 (18 reviews)
“My favorite features of this product is the ease for customers to have an electronic punch card that keeps them coming back and offers incentive to get a reward. My other favorite feature is the dashboard where I can control any campaigns, see my customer stats, and easily manage the program.” –Ni F., via Capterra
Customer loyalty software FAQ
What are the main benefits of loyalty program software?
Why use software to run a loyalty program? A few good reasons:
✅ Lets customers go cardless: Program members don’t have to worry about remembering a physical card. Instead, all the loyalty program info is stored on their phones, for the maximum convenience and reward.
✅ Reward flexibility: Design your program and rewards to meet the specific needs of your business. Set up multiple rewards, conditions to earn rewards, and reward structures, if that’s what your business desires.
✅ Detailed tracking: Most loyalty program software has the functionality to gather and aggregate data on customer behavior, so you can design and adapt a program that truly motivates customers to keep purchasing from you.
✅ Marketing automation: Automate the distribution of rewards once they are earned to save on time and hassle of performing routine tasks. Many software options also let you send email or text-based campaigns based on customer actions.
What makes referral software a great alternative to loyalty software?
Referral program software is sometimes confused with loyalty program software, but they’re distinctly different. Here’s a brief overview of the differences, to help clear up the confusion.
- Loyalty program software rewards people for sticking with your business and making repeat purchases.
- Referral program software rewards customers for sharing your business with friends, and also (often) rewards the referred friend when they make their first purchase from you.
In a nutshell, loyalty program software works towards customer retention, but referral marketing platforms work towards both new customer acquisition and customer retention. Referral program software has a customer advocacy element, but loyalty program software does not. Loyalty program software can reward many brand-building actions. Referral marketing software focuses on rewarding the action of referring friends to become customers (or sometimes leads).
Loyalty software, referral software…or both?
Both customer referral software and loyalty software share an important similarity – they encourage and reward loyal customers, and help build a customer base that’s more likely to stick with you.
Loyalty program software encourages existing customers to stick with your business by offering them rewards for repeat purchases (usually through a points-based system), and sometimes brand-building actions (like leaving a review or sharing their purchase on social).
Meanwhile, when you start a referral program, you encourage your biggest fans to share your product or service with friends. Then you issue rewards when those referrals make a purchase.
Still trying to decide? This guide to referral vs. loyalty programs could help!
